PETALING JAYA: The property sector has seen a strong comeback in the third
quarter with the renewed buying interest for residential property indicates
that the economic downturn is bottoming out.

Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho ha said the country’s
property and construction sectors which have been more severely impacted than
other sectors of the economy, have experienced revisions to their ratings
outlook.

“Our local property market, especially in the Klang Velley has shown a recovery
over the past few months.

“I have personally experienced it after visiting a few projects and through
the applications for new licenses that came to the Ministry,” he told reporters
here Monday after opening the the National Property and Housing Summit 2009.

Kong said he saw the property market was recovering, mainly among the upmarket
properties, and the sales had been very encouraging.

“That actually is a good sign of recovery of our economy. People are investing
again,” he added.

Kong credited the recovery to the implementation of stimulus packages by the
Government.

Currently, there were 148 abandoned projects in the country with some being
abandoned for almost 20 years.

Kong said the Ministry had successfully revived 12 of the 148 projects and
48 were now in various stages of processing.

On the Public Housing Project (PPR), he said the Ministry still had another
10,000 to 12,000 units of low cost houses to build, adding that the Ministry
was asked to build total of 74,000 units.

Under the additional RM200mil package announced by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk
Seri Najib Tun Razak during the Mini Budget 2009, the Federal Government was
to build PPR projects.

Commenting on the upcoming Budget 2010, Kong said the country was like any
other countries, was facing the economic crisis in the last two years.

Thus the Government has to be very prudent and plan very carefully for the
Budget 2010.

“We will maximise the existing resources that we have now to do the best and
to impact most people, especially the lower income group of people,” he said.